2025 Toronto Regulatory & Compliance Masterclass with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

David De Biasi

Senior ODD Analyst , Albourne Partners

David is a Senior Operational Due Diligence Analyst with Albourne Partners (Canada) Ltd. (“Albourne”), where he is responsible for conducting operational due diligence on investment managers across both hedge fund and private market strategies.

Prior to joining Albourne in 2019, David was an Investigator within the enforcement department of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (a predecessor to the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization), which was a self-regulatory organization that oversaw all investment dealers and trading activity on Canada’s debt and equity marketplaces.

He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Toronto, a Master of Finance from Queen’s Smith School of Business, and is both a CAIA and CFA Charterholder.

Ethan W. Johnson

Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

Mr Ethan W. Johnson is a Partner at Morgan Lewis, specializing in regulatory and transactional matters, with a particular focus on hedge fund and private equity fund formation. He expertly guides investment managers through the complexities of international operations and assists clients in establishing global offices and compliance programs.

Mr Johnson's practice encompasses the creation of various investment funds, including hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, real estate funds, UCITS, and SEC-registered funds. He also advises on the organization and operation of broker-dealers and investment advisers, as well as corporate finance projects involving public and private offerings of debt and equity securities. A prolific author and lecturer, Mr Johnson frequently addresses topics such as the regulation of broker-dealers and investment advisers, global distribution of investment funds, private equity real estate funds, investment in emerging markets, and corporate governance. Mr Johnson has been the managing editor of the Morgan Lewis Hedge Fund Deskbook for nearly 20 years.

Mr Johnson holds a J.D. from Emory University School of Law and a B.A. from Harvard University.

Brian Digney

Research and Content Director, SBAI

Brian Digney joined the SBAI in March 2023 in the role of Research and Content Director. He is responsible for content development and co-ordination of the ongoing and future working groups on a wide variety of topics, including valuation of private assets, ESG & carbon footprinting, governance, insurance linked strategies, digital assets, asset management regulation and compliance as well as new topics to be determined in the future.

Prior to joining the SBAI, Brian was the Head of Due Diligence & Governance Oversight at Innocap Global Investment Management (Ireland) Ltd (2018-2023) in Dublin, a subsidiary of Innocap Investment Management Inc., a US$50bn hedge fund platform. He acted as Designated Person for Operational Risk Management, a regulated role by the Central Bank of Ireland. He also sat on Innocap’s Irish Risk Oversight and Valuation Committees. In 2017, Brian joined Albourne Partners in London as a Senior Operational Due Diligence Analyst. From 2015 to 2017 he was employed as an Operational Due Diligence Analyst at Mercer Sentinel in London. From 2010 to 2015 he held various Associate level roles at Decura LLP, Morgan Stanley and Citi.

Brian holds an LLB Hons in Law with Criminology and an M.Sc. in Management and Corporate Governance from University of Ulster. Brian is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

Timothy Foran

Senior ODD Analyst, Albourne Partners

Tim is a Senior ODD Analyst with Albourne Partners, based in Toronto. Prior to joining Albourne in 2020, Tim was a Senior Associate with KPMG Ireland in the Restructuring & Forensics department.

Ethan W. Johnson

Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

Mr Ethan W. Johnson is a Partner at Morgan Lewis, specializing in regulatory and transactional matters, with a particular focus on hedge fund and private equity fund formation. He expertly guides investment managers through the complexities of international operations and assists clients in establishing global offices and compliance programs.

Mr Johnson's practice encompasses the creation of various investment funds, including hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, real estate funds, UCITS, and SEC-registered funds. He also advises on the organization and operation of broker-dealers and investment advisers, as well as corporate finance projects involving public and private offerings of debt and equity securities. A prolific author and lecturer, Mr Johnson frequently addresses topics such as the regulation of broker-dealers and investment advisers, global distribution of investment funds, private equity real estate funds, investment in emerging markets, and corporate governance. Mr Johnson has been the managing editor of the Morgan Lewis Hedge Fund Deskbook for nearly 20 years.

Mr Johnson holds a J.D. from Emory University School of Law and a B.A. from Harvard University.

Brian Digney

Research and Content Director, SBAI

Brian Digney joined the SBAI in March 2023 in the role of Research and Content Director. He is responsible for content development and co-ordination of the ongoing and future working groups on a wide variety of topics, including valuation of private assets, ESG & carbon footprinting, governance, insurance linked strategies, digital assets, asset management regulation and compliance as well as new topics to be determined in the future.

Prior to joining the SBAI, Brian was the Head of Due Diligence & Governance Oversight at Innocap Global Investment Management (Ireland) Ltd (2018-2023) in Dublin, a subsidiary of Innocap Investment Management Inc., a US$50bn hedge fund platform. He acted as Designated Person for Operational Risk Management, a regulated role by the Central Bank of Ireland. He also sat on Innocap’s Irish Risk Oversight and Valuation Committees. In 2017, Brian joined Albourne Partners in London as a Senior Operational Due Diligence Analyst. From 2015 to 2017 he was employed as an Operational Due Diligence Analyst at Mercer Sentinel in London. From 2010 to 2015 he held various Associate level roles at Decura LLP, Morgan Stanley and Citi.

Brian holds an LLB Hons in Law with Criminology and an M.Sc. in Management and Corporate Governance from University of Ulster. Brian is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

Ethan W. Johnson

Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

Mr Ethan W. Johnson is a Partner at Morgan Lewis, specializing in regulatory and transactional matters, with a particular focus on hedge fund and private equity fund formation. He expertly guides investment managers through the complexities of international operations and assists clients in establishing global offices and compliance programs.

Mr Johnson's practice encompasses the creation of various investment funds, including hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, real estate funds, UCITS, and SEC-registered funds. He also advises on the organization and operation of broker-dealers and investment advisers, as well as corporate finance projects involving public and private offerings of debt and equity securities. A prolific author and lecturer, Mr Johnson frequently addresses topics such as the regulation of broker-dealers and investment advisers, global distribution of investment funds, private equity real estate funds, investment in emerging markets, and corporate governance. Mr Johnson has been the managing editor of the Morgan Lewis Hedge Fund Deskbook for nearly 20 years.

Mr Johnson holds a J.D. from Emory University School of Law and a B.A. from Harvard University.

Monica Mula

Middle Office Senior Analyst, Albourne Partners

Monica has been on the Middle Office team at Albourne since 2018. Prior to that, Monica worked at an asset manager in Connecticut for over four years.

Monica is currently pursuing a master’s degree in law at the University of Toronto.

Brian Digney

Research and Content Director, SBAI

Brian Digney joined the SBAI in March 2023 in the role of Research and Content Director. He is responsible for content development and co-ordination of the ongoing and future working groups on a wide variety of topics, including valuation of private assets, ESG & carbon footprinting, governance, insurance linked strategies, digital assets, asset management regulation and compliance as well as new topics to be determined in the future.

Prior to joining the SBAI, Brian was the Head of Due Diligence & Governance Oversight at Innocap Global Investment Management (Ireland) Ltd (2018-2023) in Dublin, a subsidiary of Innocap Investment Management Inc., a US$50bn hedge fund platform. He acted as Designated Person for Operational Risk Management, a regulated role by the Central Bank of Ireland. He also sat on Innocap’s Irish Risk Oversight and Valuation Committees. In 2017, Brian joined Albourne Partners in London as a Senior Operational Due Diligence Analyst. From 2015 to 2017 he was employed as an Operational Due Diligence Analyst at Mercer Sentinel in London. From 2010 to 2015 he held various Associate level roles at Decura LLP, Morgan Stanley and Citi.

Brian holds an LLB Hons in Law with Criminology and an M.Sc. in Management and Corporate Governance from University of Ulster. Brian is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.